Milan Tobacconists House Blend Reviews

[cpmcdill]

Blend: Reflections by Milan Tobacconists
Pipe: Vintage Dr. Grabow Golden Duke rusticated straight pot with Adjustomatic Stem (no filter)
Packing method: Codger stuff
Appearance: Ribbon cut, more than 50% very dark/black, another 40% medium reddish brown, and the balance some light yellowish. I infer that it is mostly cavendish and burley, with a condimental amount of Virginia.
Pouch note: On first sniffing, my general impression was something of a butterscotch topping. The description at Milan say it is "vanilla, caramel, sweet cream, nutmeg, and gentle spice" and seeing that I can understand how that might add up to butterscotch. Anyway, the fragrance is very pleasant.

It took a flame very easily, and I had a few puffs before allowing it to go out again. The initial smoke carried the distinct black cavendish flavor, as well as many of the flavors from the topping. A sweet, nice tasting blend, is the first impression.
After setting the pipe aside a few minutes, I re-lit and this time the toppings were less prominent in the flavor, but still distinct in the room note. Mostly, as I'm giving it a slow puffing cadence, I'm finding it to be a cool-smoking, sweet cavendish flavor. It's quality stuff. Sometimes cav-based aros taste like nothing, which makes me feel like I'm smoking for the benefit of others than myself. But this stuff has flavor.
The tobacco stays burning very well. Relatively few relights for an aromatic. The tobacco in the pouch feels moist, and that moisture is a presence in the pipe, though this pipe I'm using is highly resistant to gurgle. There are however a lot of sizzle sounds coming from the bowl. Next time I'll try leaving some out to dry a while, to see how that affects things.
Anyway, it burned right down to ash with minimal dottle. It wasn't until afterward when I sipped a beverage that I discovered I might have gotten a smidgen of tongue burn. Might have been puffing a little faster as I approached the finish.

For the most part, I'm not an aro smoker. But sometimes I find aro blends that hit the spot. This was a satisfying smoke, and I'll enjoy these two ounces while they last.